Wintry Blood
by moonbeard
Summary: What would you choose? Love or Meomories? Set in Kakashi Gaiden and onward. OCX? I suck at summaries
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I was just kind of bored in class and began writing this and decided to expand so read and review please!!! )

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**Wintry Blood**

Who would believe that I'd be sitting in a jail of a village that raised me since I was a child? A talented ninja who was optimistic, funny, outgoing, and sweet, a little cocky at sometimes, but for the most part I was okay.

Sighing, I took of Kisame's Akatsuki cloak.

_I wonder if Tobi, Kisame, and Itachi are back at the base now._

We had been tracking the two tailed demon cat in the Land of Fire and Tobi set off a trap. We were instantly attacked. Ninjas came from everywhere. I killed so many but they just kept coming. Then it had hit me hard: they had been expecting us. While I had been fighting, I noticed that four of them had sat down in a wide circle around us and they were drawing something in the dirt. Without thinking I had bitten my finger and summoned Kip. A blue baby cougar appeared.

/_Are we gonna play again/_

"Not today," I said quickly, "I want you to get Itachi, Kisame, and Tobi far away from here."

Kip took a swift look around and understood the situation. He nodded then darted away.

I was really glad that I had signed that blood contract with the cougars.

There were shouts from the ninjas as I knew there'd be. I continued to fight and fight, and was able to stop some from following Kip and the others.

/_They're safe_/ Kip told me telepathically.

/_Thank you Kip, you're dismissed._ /

I then sheathed my bloody sword and they immediately brought a barrier around me that shut off my chakara use. I had sacrificed myself knowing full well that they probably weren't coming back to save me. The ninjas who took me carried me back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I recognized the walls at once, but when I was brought inside I was surprised. It looked different then I had last seen it. I noticed a ninja had left and then came back.

"The Hokage wants her taken to the prison. He'll speak to her later on today," he said.

"Excuse me, is Sarutobi still the Hokage?" I asked.

They looked at me and then continued on with their conversation.

_Talk about manners… then again I am the captured missing-nin_

And then they brought me to this dank cage.

_Where did I go wrong?_

I felt myself growing drowsy but I wanted to relive my life again. Almost like that flashback before you die. This moment may be that flashback since the third may have changed like the rest of the village.

_From the very beginning…_

My mother and Taro Suzuki had lived in the Hidden in the Mist village for all their lives. Once they got married they wanted to have a baby boy. They tried a number of times over many years, but they were never successful. Taro then decided, since my mom wasn't getting any younger, that she sleeps with his brother. My whore of a mother did and nine months later, on October 3rd, I was born. Syra. My dad gave me that name.

I can only imagine their shock when they were looking at an icy blue- eyed, black -haired girl. My mother hated me and shunned me as did Taro, but my father loved me. Everything would've been alright if only he hadn't died on a mission. The mizukage at the time forced my mother and her husband to take me in. Their attitude towards me never changed. They pretended I didn't exist and I avoided them as much as possible.

During those six years I took scraps from the table and garbage because they never fed me. I wore my dad's clothes that were too big for me. Every chance I got I would go to the lake near us and just hang out. That's when I figured out I could control water.

Friends? I didn't have any which was fine with me. I kept myself happy. I taught myself how to speak by listening to other people's conversations. At age four, I discovered how to make ice. Combining the wind and a little water made my favorite substance. I had always thought that my ability to control water and make ice was magic. It wasn't until I was eight that Old man Koji told me it was chakara, but that comes later on.

When I turned five, my mother finally became pregnant by the man she married. Nine months later the baby of their dreams was born. I continued to stay out of their way. My birthday came and passed without a single gift. Then one night both of them came up to me when I was getting ready to go to bed.

"We want you to leave," my mother told me.

"Our baby can't be brought up with the likes of you lurking around. You're bad influence," Taro said.

Feeling shocked and angry, I stormed out of the house and ran towards the lake. Once I got there I sat down at the edge and noticed I was crying. What had I ever done to them? A breeze comforted me. Passing through my short unkempt hair and drying my tears. It cleared my head. My blood grew cold as I thought of revenge for how they treated me since the day I was born. And I knew just the thing that would do it. I waited for the moon to come up before I ran back to their house.

I snuck in and quietly went into Taro's study. He always came in here everyday. I pushed aside the tall bookshelf as quietly as I could. Behind the shelf was a cupboard. I opened the cupboard and looked at the gleaming samurai sword. I'd often see him just staring at this weapon.

Its hilt was blue with bronze designs on it. The blade was a nice silvery blue and it had a little blue design near the very tip. Its scabbard was right next to it. This would be my late birthday gift.

I had to take a couple of books off the shelf and stack them to reach the sword and the scabbard. When I had gotten them, I jumped off the books and landed nimbly. The sword however landed heavily on the ground. I quickly picked up the heavy samurai sword as much as I could and placed the scabbard over it. Then I ran out of the house and continued to run from the village. I didn't stop until I had run out of breath. Breathing heavily I plopped myself down in front of a tree then curled up and went to sleep. The next morning, I continued to run away from the village officially starting my life as a missing-nin.

For that first year, I wandered surviving on animal instinct. I also got a better grip on the sword and began teaching myself how to use it. There were improvements in my control over water as well.

At age eight, I met old man Koji. I loved him the way a daughter loved her father. In short he became my replacement dad. The day I met old man Koji, I had been trying to steal a sack of gold from these bandits which wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I was driven by hunger. I had been surrounded by all of those ninjas when I had seen a fast blur go through all of them. They all stood still for a second and then collapsed to the ground. I looked towards my savior and it was an elderly man that looked humble. At the moment I had been bleeding heavily from a wound to my side. I fell to my knees and fainted.

When I came to, I was in a nice warm bed. My wound had been bandaged and my cuts had been covered in ointment. The man that I would refer to old man Koji for the following year was sitting across from me. He stood up and walked towards me with a tray of food in his hand. I looked around for my sword but it was no where to be found, there wasn't a source of water around either. I watched him warily as he placed the tray of food on the bed side table.

"Go a head and eat. I know you must be starving if you're stealing from bandits," he said.

I looked at him then picked up the rice ball in my hand and began eating. I ate it all, enjoying the taste. Meals like these don't grow off trees. After I finished, I licked my fingers then watched my host take the tray. When he came back, he sat down in his chair and stared at me. I kept the staring game up and then a smile appeared on his face.

"Did you know that eyes are your greatest weakness and advantage? On the pro side you can tell what kind of person they are by their gaze. You can read there emotions, even there minds if you try hard enough. And yet all of what I say could be read about you, but there is a way to train yourself. You have very good control over your eyes." he said.

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem. I'm Koji Machikira. But everyone around the village calls me old man Koji and I must admit I am catching up on my age."

"My name is Syra."

Although he told me I could go, I stayed. I found him interesting. There was just something that made me wait. From his kindness to the way he carried himself, Koji had become a person I adored.

After I had been there for over two weeks he asked me something at dinner.

"Syra, I have news for you," Koji said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I want you to become my apprentice," he said.

"…What's a apprentice?"

"_An_ apprentice; it's a trainee."

"…"

"I want to teach you everything I know."

"Oh, but why?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I'm getting older and I think you'll be the perfect person."

"Thank you," I said while smiling.

He smiled back at me then we finished dinner. After we finished, he brought me into his study. Old man Koji rustled behind his desk and pulled out a blank piece of paper.

"Put some of your chakara in it," he said,

"What's chakara?" I asked.

"Why chakara is the basis of all jutsus. It's a mixture of the energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience. Didn't you learn about it when you were in the academy?"

"….I never went to school….," I said,

He watched me and then his smile appeared. "Just means more work to be done. I'll teach you the ways of the ninja. And I'm assuming that you can't write or read either, am I correct?"

I nodded.

"That's all right. We can fix that and I can add your training in also. But tell me, can you control anything special?"

"Well, there's my magic? I can make water move with my magic and I can also make ice when I add air."

"That 'magic' is your chakara," he told me, "I want you to focus your chakara into this piece of paper."

I nodded and placed my hand onto the piece of paper then imagined a flowing river running into the small piece of paper. The next thing I knew the paper grew soggy. Old man Koji took the paper from me and hmmed.

"You're special elemental power is water. I'm not much of a water user but I do know a few jutsus. I'd also like to teach you some earth jutsus. They're very helpful in battle."

I smiled at everything he said he was going to teach me. I was going to have a real teacher and I was happy.

When he paused I said, "Thank you, old man Koji."

He smiled at me and I hugged him. He was true to every word he said. During that year old man Koji taught me the ways of the ninja and he added some of his own views in there too. He taught me how to read, write, control chakara, and use my chakara to my advantage. From analyzing my opponent's attacks, formation, and strategies to learning the different jutsus everything was incredible. He even helped me figure out a series of actions that would help me train with my sword. I was lucky that I was a fast learner.

Half the attacks I have now were learnt from him. I would've gladly stayed with him forever but when I turned nine he turned me away, telling me that I had learned everything that I could from him. I begged him to keep me but he stayed firm.

"I want you to test your abilities out in the world," he said while we were standing outside.

Tears streaked down my face but I gave him a steady gaze.

"I know you'll do great," he told me.

I hugged him and said, "Good bye Old man Koji." I began walking away.

"Syra, wait!" old man Koji said. I watched as he hobbled inside and then came back out with a giant scroll in his hands.

"What is that?" I asked.

"I was debating on whether you were ready or not and I think you are," he unrolled it in front of me.

There were different signatures in red ink and I could see Old man Koji's name.

"If you sign this, you'll be able to summon cougars to come and aid you in battle or in anything else for that matter. You don't have to sign though. I don't want you to feel pressured."

I looked at the line of names written next to each other. I wanted to be apart of that line of names. I would belong somewhere.

"Where's the pen?" I asked.

"Pens won't work. You must sign with your own blood."

I nodded then bit down on my thumb, drawing blood. Kneeling down in front of the scroll, I wrote my name. After I finished he showed me hand signs that would summon the cougars. He had me practice in front of him until he thought that I had gotten it perfect.

"Remember to bite your thumb before you start the hand seals. And the more chakara put into your summon the stronger the cougar. Now go!" he said.

I walked away from the house that had grown on me. After I left, I traveled across lands. That year is hazy to my memory, so I don't remember where exactly I went. But I do remember meeting Nova, a 15-year-old bad ass at the time, who was an excellent swordsman.

He had said something to provoke me and I had attacked him with my sword. After a very short fight, I found myself on the ground with my sword and my opponent's sword at my neck. He had helped me up and then told me what I had done wrong. We fought again and I lost. He began leaving and I followed him. I stayed with him a couple of months and I got close to him; closer than I got to old man Koji. I soon figured out that I had a crush on him.

During the months that I followed him, he trained me by having sparring matches. I lost every time of course but I was learning from my mistakes. One night though he just up and left me in the middle of the night leaving no explanation. I had shed a few tears. It felt wretched losing people that you got close to.

I traveled not knowing where I was going, living off the land. A month before I turned ten, I was attacked by rogue ninjas while making dinner one evening. They obviously didn't have any idea who they were dealing with. They were easy to defeat but the only draw back is that they travel in large packs, so I did end up with a couple of wounds. They were nothing but flesh wounds but they were bleeding heavily. I remember feeling numb and watching the red liquid I was so familiar with flow down my legs. Leaning on my sword, I hobbled looking for help. Unintentionally, I wandered into the village where I met my first love, had my first kiss, and meet my rival: The Village Hidden in the Leaves.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto or any of the characters

**Wintry Blood**

"Prisoner!" someone said.

I lifted my eyes up to look at the same ninja that ignored me earlier, on the other side of my bars.

"Get up, the Hokage wants to see you, prisoner," he said.

"I have a name you know," I muttered while picking up the Akatsuki cloak and standing up.

I was also about to pick up my sword when he said, "Leave the sword there."

He unlocked the bars and told me not to do anything funny. I gave him an innocent smile. He glared at me and walked forward. I followed him and as soon as we left the building, twenty more ninjas surrounded us. I was so flattered. They considered me that dangerous.

We walked towards what I assumed was the Hokage's tower. While we walked, I looked everywhere, drinking in the changes of the village I once knew like the back of my hand. There were people staring at me but I ignored them and continued to look at the new buildings. We arrived and we went inside in a single file line.

Ten of the ninjas stayed outside while the rest of them came in with me. We walked up this spiraling staircase. One of the ninjas knocked on the door that was at the top of the steps.

"Come in," a voice said.

The head ninja opened the door and pulled me to the front. He led me in and I got a look at the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," I whispered.

The old man smiled at me. "Hello, Syra," Sarutobi said.

_**16 years ago**_

I had stumbled into the village and lay down next to some trash cans. I just wanted to rest a bit. I knew I would probably be dead the next day but I was so dizzy. I slept expecting to meet death but I didn't. When I woke up I was on a couch. My whole body was stiff but I moved anyway. The room I was in was simple with only a lamp, a cupboard, a mirror, and a bookcase. Next to me was tray of food. I pulled the blanket off of me and looked down at the green sleeping gown I was wearing.

"You're awake," someone said.

I turned my head towards the door and there was an old lady.

"Those wounds you had weren't very bad but you had a lot of them," she said. I watched as she changed my pillow. "I don't know what you did but you lost a good amount of blood. You shouldn't move around much." She fluffed my pillow and I heard something along the lines of "kids these days."

"Thank you," I said.

The old woman looked at me then smiled warmly. She then walked out of the room and I got back on the couch and began eating the food on the tray. Later on that day after I'd finished eating and taken a nap, the old lady came back into the room.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

I nodded.

"That's good. I brought you some new clothes. The ones you were wearing are beyond help." She presented me with a small pile of folded clothes. "After you get dressed we'll go see the Hokage."

She left the room to allow me to get changed. I made my weary body get off the couch. I took of the green gown and pulled on the black caprice that had little grey designs at the bottom. Then I pulled the matching Chinese dress on that had slits made at the waist (so there was a long cloth in the front and back). The clothes fit me perfectly. I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself. My light blue eyes scanned my features. From my messy, tangled barely shoulder-length hair to my lean face, I looked like a dirty girl who had been abandoned. And it wasn't far from the truth.

My stomach growled, alerting me that it wanted food. The old lady wasn't back yet so I decided to go find her. I opened the door and walked out into a hallway. There were other doors when I looked to the left. When I looked to the right there was the smell of food, so I walked to the right. At the end of the hallway it opened up into this spacious room that consisted of the kitchen and living room. Farther ahead was the front door. In the kitchen I heard humming. I walked over and she saw me.

"Oh, I'm glad the clothes fit okay. They used to be my daughter's. She's all grown up now." She looked out of the window for a second before saying, "Well, the past is in the past. What's your name?"

"Syra," I replied.

"That's a nice name. Look at your hair! Good Lord, child. Sit down and eat while I get a comb."

The old lady placed a plate in front of me and she left. I shoveled the food that on my plate down. When I finished I let out a burp that would've made Nova proud. I giggled a little at the sound I made, and then smiled sadly as I thought of Nova.

"Okay, from the look of your hair, this may hurt a bit," the woman said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I walked behind the old lady with my head throbbing but looking nice. Little children skipped next to their parents while singing songs. One of them- a boy- dropped his ball and it bounced towards me. I picked it up and gave it back to him. He gave me a grin and a "thank you" then ran back to his friends.

I looked around and the people passing by me looked so happy. I realized that I had stopped walking and I quickly looked for the old woman. A flash of gray was seen in the corner of my eye and I dashed towards it and rounded a corner, I crashed into somebody and hit the ground hard.

"Ah, ow…ouch. Are you okay?" someone asked.

I looked up to find a black haired boy sitting on the ground. He looked about the same age as me. His brown eyes were full of worry.

My cheeks grew very warm; I wasn't used to guys caring for me. Old man Koji was an old man and Nova didn't count either since I wasn't even sure he cared about me. But here this random guy was concerned about me.

"Hellooo…are you alright?" he asked again.

"Oh," I blushed again, "I'm fine thanks."

He helped me up and smiled. "Sorry about that. I'm Obito,"

"I'm Syra," I said smiling.

I liked him. He had this certain air of likableness. All of a sudden his smile vanished.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You're bleeding," he said.

I looked down and the wound that I had on the side of my stomach had indeed opened again. My blood had already stained and darkened the new outfit.

_It must've opened when I hit the ground._

"It's—," I began.

"Come on. Training can wait," he said while grabbing my hand.

Obito pulled me after him and we ran. We sprinted past shops and came to what looked like a district. I saw fan looking symbols almost everywhere I looked.

"Mom, Mom!" Obito shouted as we entered a house.

"Obito, didn't you just leave the house a couple of minutes ago—," a pretty woman with black hair and brown eyes came out, "Oh, hello."

"Mom, she's bleeding."

"Dear, come here."

Obito led me to his mother.

"Obito, go get some bandages, Alright let's see." She lifted my shirt up and saw my previous bandages that were now soaked with blood. I made a small gasp as she unwrapped the bandages, and my wound was enveloped in cold air. Obito's mother washed the blood away and an angry look came on her face. "Where is that boy?"

Right on cue, Obito came running into the room. He gave his mom the white cloth. I straitened up more so she could put the bandages on better. After she dressed my wound I put my shirt down and thanked her.

"Look at your clothes. Let me wash them for you."

"It's alright," I said.

"Are you sure?" she questioned.

I nodded. She looked at me seriously then smiled.

"What's your name?" she asked me.

"Syra."

"That's a pretty name." She turned around and saw Obito still standing there. "Obito Uchiha, you're already late as it is!" she shouted.

"I wanted to make sure Syra was okay," he shouted back.

Obito and his mother had a glare fight then his mother smiled at him.

"Here," she said tossing a pair of goggles at him.

"Thanks," he said.

"Go ahead and walk Syra home," she said.

Obito nodded then said, "C'mon Syra."

I told Obito's mother "Thank you" again and followed Obito out.

He placed his goggles on his head then asked, "Where do you live?"

"I'm not from here, but I was on my way to the Hokage."

We began walking.

"Are you a messenger from another village?" he asked.

"Not really," I said uncomfortably.

He got the hint. We walked in silence for a while when he tripped on a rock. He caught himself but let out a string of curses. Then he paused looked at me and said, "Damn."

I laughed and laughed something I hadn't done in a long time. I couldn't stop myself. Tears began to well up. I managed to get my uncontrollable laughter down to giggles.

"I-I'm sorry," I said still giggling.

He was smiling at me. "I'm the one that should be sorry. I don't usually cuss in front of girls," he said.

Before I could say anything a cold voice said, "Here you are dawdling."

We both turned around and looked at this spiky, white haired boy who was staring at Obito with a bored look.

"Kakashi…," Obito said stiffly.

The boy Kakashi then turned his eyes on me.

"Who are you?" he asked me behind his mask that covered half his face.

"My business is my own," I told him.

He glared at me and deep inside I got a kind of satisfaction.

"Obito! Where have you been?" someone asked.

I looked away from the fierce look Kakashi was giving me and saw a girl running towards us. She stopped next to Kakashi.

Obito blushed and muttered, "Hey Rin."

"We thought something bad had happened to you," she said.

Rin flicked her brown hair over her shoulder and glanced at Kakashi who wasn't paying attention to her. I noticed strange purple marks on her face. She sighed and then turned on Obito. By the looks of it, Rin was about to scold Obito when there was a puff of white smoke and there was a tall man standing next to us.

He had blonde hair and looked angry.

"Oh hey, sensei," Obito said sheepishly.

The man opened his mouth.

"Yondaime!"

The yellow-haired man closed his mouth and turned his head.

"Yondaime, oh you found her!"

I followed his gaze and there was the old woman running towards us.

"Thank you," she said stopping next to us. "Syra, I'm so sorry that I lost you. Are you okay?"

I gave her a small smile and nodded.

"I actually didn't find her, Mrs. Shizune. It was Obito," Yondaime said.

"Well then, thank you so much Obito. You're all welcome to come by the house if you'd like to have cookies or see Syra that is if she's willing to stay with me. But we don't have to worry about that now."

I saw Kakashi glance at me through my periphiol vision. I turned and stared at him. Old man Koji said you could tell what people were thinking by looking at them. He glared at me and I kept up the same amount of fierceness.

"Syra, I think it's about time we go see the hokage," Mrs. Shizune said.

I tore my eyes away from Kakashi's and gave the old lady a small smile. I then turned to Obito.

"Thank you," I said with a genuine smile.

He blushed. "No problem."

"It was nice meeting you all. I hope we see each other again," I cheerfully said.

There were good byes from all except from _him_. As I walked away with the old woman, I could still feel his eyes on me. Kakashi Hatake, what _is_ his problem?

We walked past by a few buildings and large fields and came to this large shack looking thing. We entered and then walked through a couple of more doors. The next thing I knew I was looking at a man that was a past his prime but hadn't yet reached old age yet.

Mrs. Shizune dipped her head into a bow and said, "Hokage-sama."

The man smiled and said," How are you today, Shizune?"

"I'm just fine, thank you."

"And who is this?" he asked looking at me.

"This is Syra. She is the reason for my visit today. I found her last night, heavily wounded. And I was wondering if I could become her foster parent," she asked.

The man was silent for a while then smiled. "Syra, would you like to live with Shizune?"

I thought for second myself. It would be nice not having to worry about attacks. And food would be provided. I'm done with the life of living out in the wild.

"If you would allow it, sir, I would like to live with her," I said.

He smiled again and said, "Then so be it. Shizune I will send you the adoption papers by mail. Syra, welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village."

"Thank you so much, Sarutobi-sama."

Shizune gave him a nod and I bowed my head a little too. Then we walked out, starting my new life.

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A/N: I don't think this story is going to be as popular as my other ones, but that's okay since I'm writing this for my own personal amusement.

**P.S.** I will always write in the present time first and write in her past second. Just try not to get confused.


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